Paul Augustine Cardinal Mayer, O.S.B. (1911-2010)

Paul Cardinal Mayer, the oldest living cardinal in the Catholic Church, went to his eternal reward today, he was twenty three days short of his 99th birthday.

Card. Mayer served as Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship by Ven. John Paul II in 1984. He served in that position until 1988 when he was appointed the first president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which sought to reconcile the Society of St. Pius X, whose illegal (but valid) ordinations of four new bishops by their superior, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, led to the bishops' excommunication. The excommunications have since been lifted by Pope Benedict XVI and talks for full communion are ongoing. He served as president until 1991.

He was also the abbot of St. Michael's Abbey in Metten, Bavaria, served as secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Second Vatican Council, and was the Secretary of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes.

Please pray for the happy repose of his soul. Requiescat in Pace. +

Justin Murphy for Congress, CCGOP candidates for Cherry Hill

After screening congressional candidates Jon Runyan and Joseph Rullo for the GOP nomination to take on Rep. John Adler (D-NJ) in November, needless to say it took me a while to carefully think about who I should support in the Republican primary on June 8. After full consideration of both candidates, I have opted not to endorse either Runyan nor Rullo. I was looking for a candidate who represents the true conservative ideas which I stand for: pro-life, pro-2nd amendment, an advocate for small government, and one who wants to abolish unnecessary agencies and will work to faze out the IRS and Federal Reserve.

I have found that candidate in Justin Murphy.

Justin Murphy, a Catholic and former Congressional candidate in 2008, is a Reagan Republican in its truest form. Murphy opposes abortion, supports traditional marriage, and favors our second amendment rights. Furthermore, Murphy is strongly anti-IRS and supports a 15% flat tax and supports offshore drilling (including off the shores of New Jersey) which will reduce our dependence on terrorist-sponsored countries for oil.

Unnfortunately, while I believe that Jon Runyan, the endorsed candidate of the CCGOP and CHRO, sincerely cares for the people of the 3rd congressional district, I am not completely satisfied with his positions and one which concerns me dearly. Runyan, while claiming to be a fiscal conservative, has provided no tax-overhaul plan. Furthermore, Runyan has described himself as "pro-choice on abortion with a lot of restrictions". As an unshakable defender of life, I cannot endorse someone who is pro-abortion, knowing that there is another candidate available that is pro-life. While I respect the decision of the CCGOP and the CHRO to endorse Jon, I likewise respectfully dissent and support my personal decision.

Of course, there is a catch: under Justin's column in Cherry Hill are the "We the People Republicans". This is a group of disenchanted Republicans who are opposed to the current leadership of the Cherry Hill Republicans and the CCGOP in general. Unfortunately, this is not a group based on ideology, rather, an example of infighting over leadership. While the "We the People Republicans" sound like a conservative group, not all of the candidates are conservatives. In fact, while the "We the People Republicans" are running under an anti-establishment Republican, one candidate insisted that the county party pour money into the CHRO campaign when he ran for council.

Anti-establishment? I think not

Let me be brief and say that under the current chairman, Rich Ambrosino, and the CCGOP chairman, Rick DeMichele, the CHRO has gotten closer to beating the Democrats than any other time in recent history. The candidates that he vetted, approved, and run to win, are the same ones who are now running against the party.

I am running for a position in the Cherry Hill Republican Organization this June, and I urge the voters of Cherry Hill to support myself and the rest of the CHRO candidates which include my good friend and strong pro-lifer Scot DeCristofaro for freeholder. You know that I am not an establishment pet, my endorsement of Justin Murphy proves that. At the same time however, I'm not willing to give up on Rich, Rick, and the rest of the county party. We made great strides last year with the elections of Asm. Dom DiCicco (R) and Oaklyn councilmen Mike Ritchie and Shawn McLean and came within 504 votes of picking up a seat in Cherry Hill. While I agree with grassroots, I think that at this time we should give the CCGOP one last chance to prove that they are capable of gaining seats across Camden County. If they fail this time, then it will certainly be time for change, and yes, even complete distrust.

So in conclusion, I have chosen to endorse Justin Murphy for Congress on his column and the rest of the candidates are on Column 1, including myself for CHRO member and George Zallie, Scot DeCristofaro, and Chris Leone-Zwillinger for freeholder.

RINO on the loose

Florida Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist (R), who was endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others in the national GOP establishment (and RINOs like Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham), is expected to announce that he will end his disastrous bid for the Republican nomination and will run as an independent.

Good riddance!

Crist, who was once considered the strong favorite in this race, has trailed his challenger, former FL Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, by double-digits. Rubio has become a national political sensation, especially among conservatives and big-name Republicans, after his endorsements by former FL Gov. Jeb Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, former MA Gov. and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Rep. Paul Ryan, and the conservative Club for Growth, among countless others.

Charlie Crist's record of liberalism gives me a reason to rejoice at his departure from the Republican Party. Here are some of his positions on some of the issues:

RIGHT TO LIFE - Contrary to arguments that he is pro-life, he has described himself as "pro-choice" and as late as 2005, opposed counseling and waiting periods for women seeking abortions. He also supported embryonic-stem cell research and supports taxpayers to fund it. His impact on the Terri Schiavo case in his home state was so forceful, Terri's father, the late Robert Schindler, said "He had it within his authority to save her life, but he turned a blind eye to her suffering".

2nd AMENDMENT - Crist tried to kill an NRA "guns-at work" initiative and has publicly supported gun control.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY - As a Senate candidate, Crist said that he is willing to lift the gay adoption ban in place in FL since 1977. He has also been critical of traditional marriage in the past.

But the most obvious fact is that Charlie Crist was one of the most enthusistic cheerleaders of the Obama stimulus and was one of the first to jump up and down to get stimulus.

Goodbye, Charlie, don't let the door hit you on the way out. And tell your friends in Florida to support Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate!

Support from "The Simpsons"

Like any long-running cartoon show, The Simpsons and South Park have taken some cheap shots against each other. However, it looks like when the going gets tough, they have each other's back. As I'm sure you know, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creaators of South Park, have received threats from the radical "Muslim Revolution" over the way they depicted the Musilim prophet Muhammad:



Religion of peace, huh? (Meanwhile, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Hindus, and Buddhists are still fair game).

Anyway, here's a clip of yesterday's Simpsons episode, which shows (quite humrously) their solidarity with South Park:



UPDATE: Seattle Cartoonist Molly Norris has declared May 20 "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day". Controversy is expected to increase as the date gets closer.

A Glorious Day for the Church in America

I got back to Philadelphia from Washington, D.C. sometime around 3:00am this morning (and didn't get back to my place in Jersey until about 4) after a marvelous day day in Washington with my friends after our 24-hour pilgrimage for the Solemn Pontifical Mass at the National Shrine. It was arguably one of my most memorable and spiritually enriching celebrations of the Holy Sacrifices of the Mass that I've ever attended.

Here are some pictures from the Mass as well as the blognic at The Dubliner after Mass:

The High Altar


Bishop Edward Slattery


Prayers at the Foot of the Altar


Fr. Z and myself


The blognic at The Dubliner

Blognic at The Dubliner

For those of you going to the Pontifical Mass at the National Shrine, Fr. Z's Washington blognic will be at The Dubliner. It's about 7 minutes away from the National Shrine if you drive and 3 metro stops from Catholic University. It is on the Senate side of the Capitol, and since the Senate isn't in session, parking should be a little easier than usual.

Hope to see you there!

A picture's worth a thousand words...and a trip to the next round!

"Do you realize that? You have a saint!"

Since Lent, the Church has experienced a new wave of sexual abuse cases which have led to countless people calling for the Church to "change" and even to abolish its hierarchy. Some have just been vicious, especially against the Holy Father (the New York Times and the rest of the liberal media comes to mind).

But what about those who were directly affected? Here's an interesting article from the Catholic News Agency regarding an encounter of victims of clerical abuse and the Pope:

Abuse victim: "Pope Benedict XVI is a 'saint'"

Rome, Italy, Apr 22, 2010 / 01:46 pm (CNA/EWTN News)- Vatican analyst Andrea Tornielli spoke with Joseph Magro, 38, one of eight victims of clerical abuse who met with Pope Benedict XVI during his recent visit to Malta. Magro said the meeting “was truly a most beautiful gift, after all this suffering, we all cried, even the Pope.”

In the interview published by the Italian daily Il Giornale, Magro, who proudly showed the rosary he was given by the Holy Father in Malta, shared details about his meeting with the Pope.

“I did not have any faith in priests. Now, after this moving experience, I have hope again. You people in Italy have a saint. Do you realize that? You have a saint,” he said, referring to Pope Benedict XVI.

Later, explaining his discussion with the Holy Father, Magro said, “When I told him my name was Joseph, the Pope’s eyes grew wide and he said, ‘Joseph, like me!’ Then I asked him: ‘Why did the priest do this to me, why did he abuse me?’ He replied that he prays for me and we then prayed together.”

Magro said he could see that the Pope “felt great sorrow. I could see he was suffering with me. I didn’t want to make him suffer, I didn’t tell him about the abuse that I suffered, but he wept with me, even though he had no fault in what happened.”

After admitting that he did not expect to have this emotional encounter with the Holy Father, Magro said, “This was a great gift for me, to be welcomed in this way and to be listened to by him. I heard his speech at the airport, on Saturday afternoon. He did not say anything about the problem of abuse. But this morning (Sunday, April 18), at 9:00 a.m., I received a call: I was to go to the bishop’s house because I was going to see the Pope.”

“I finally have a little bit of peace thanks to this encounter. He gave me a rosary which I now wear around my neck,” Magro said.

Please keep praying for our Holy Father.

Pontifical High Mass in DC - UPDATE

As I'm sure everyone knows by know, Dario Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos will not celebrate the Solemn Pontifical High Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception this Saturday due to a recent controversy surrounding him (though when you look at it, there's nothing to fret about). Fortunately, The Paulus Institute did get Bishop Edward Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa to celebrate the Pontifical Mass. They also confirmed that William Cardinal Baum will also be in attendance.


For those planning to attend, get there by 12:15 to claim a good seat. Prior to the Mass, a few childrens choirs will be singing in honor of our Holy Father. Mass will begin at 1:00pm. After Mass, I will probably join other bloggers (and anyone else) for a blognic being hosted by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf of What Does the Prayer Really Say?.

This pretty much sums it up

They'd go after everyone, won't they?



Thanks to my friend, Fr. Rob Sinatra, for this photo.

I'm back!

Yes, it's been exactly one month since I last posted something on this blog, but just wanted to let you know that I'm back on a regular basis.

Just thought I'd warn you!